Acquisition of Oncology Support Product Assets

RNS Number : 7804H

Venture Life Group PLC

06 August 2021

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

For immediate release

Venture Life Group PLC

("VLG" or the "Company")

Acquisition of Brands and Assets from Helsinn Healthcare SA

Venture Life Group PLC (AIM: VLG) ("VLG") a leader in developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the international self-care market, announces that it has acquired a series of oncology support product assets from Helsinn Healthcare SA (the "Brands") for a total consideration of 6 million CHF (approximately £4.7 million) (the "Acquisition").  The Acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing.

The Acquisition comprises three on-market products within the area of oncology support, as well as all the associated IP and existing customer relationships in relation to the Brands.

The three on-market products are:

· Gelclair - a muco-adhesive oral rinse gel used for the management of painful symptoms of oral mucositis (side effect of some cancer therapies). Gelclair is a registered medical device and is currently partnered in 40 countries;

· Pomi-T - a Polyphenol rich mix of wholefoods used for the management of prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in prostate cancer. Pomi-T is a registered food supplement and is currently partnered in 22 markets; and

· Xonrid - a Hyaluronic acid based topical gel used for the prevention and treatment of radiation induced dermatitis. Xonrid is a registered medical device and currently partnered in 21 countries.

For the year ended 31 December 2020, the Brands generated gross profit of £1.3m on sales of £2.5m. Revenues for the 2020 financial year were impacted by the Covid pandemic which saw a reduction in oncology treatments due to lockdown, however, the Board expects the revenues of the Brands to benefit from the reducing effects of the pandemic and the increase of oncology treatments back to pre-Covid levels.

The Brands are sold exclusively through distribution partners around the world.  VLG already has good long-term relationships with some of the Brands' partners.  The Board believes that there is a sizeable opportunity to expand the Brands' geographical footprint via VLG's existing relationships with many of the Brands' current partners as well as cross-selling within the current VLG business. The Board also considers that there is a further opportunity to develop additional new products for this nascent oncology support category within VLG.

VLG has been the contract manufacturer of Gelclair since 2000 and of Xonrid since 2018 and, as such, the Board expects the integration of the Brands into VLG to be relatively straightforward. Furthermore, the Acquisition comes with the support of a transitional services agreement for a period of up to 21 months for the regulatory aspects required during the transition from the Medical Device Directive (MDD) to the new Medical Device Regulations (MDR) in the EU.

The total consideration paid for the Acquisition is 6 million CHF, 3 million CHF payable on completion and an unconditional 3 million CHF payment due 12 months post completion.  The consideration payable will be funded from a combination of cash reserves and the Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") announced on 21 June 2021.  Remaining cash reserves plus subsequent cash generation, along with the remaining RCF available, will give considerable firepower to continue our brand acquisition strategy.

Jerry Randall, CEO commented: "I am delighted to announce another acquisition in pursuit of our progressive strategy to develop the Group through selective acquisitions of exciting and immediately earnings enhancing assets. Oncology support has been an area of interest in recent years for VLG as a potential growth area in an under-served market. Oncology patients and their healthcare practitioners look for products that provide effective relief from the painful side effects of oncology treatments.

The Brands we are acquiring are well established Brands, backed by good clinical data and already have meaningful revenues in many countries. We believe we can broaden the portfolio and offering, leveraging our in-house capabilities and expertise in medical devices and our geographic reach.

Gelclair is partnered in 40 countries already and we have existing relationships with some of its partners. There is the opportunity to further expand its geographic footprint and recently a new Japanese partner has achieved registration and is expected to launch the product in 2021. Pomi-T is less widely distributed, in 22 countries, as it was only launched in 2017, but again we believe there is a good opportunity to expand this interesting product further geographically.

The addition of the Brands to the Group brings meaningful additional revenue and profitability for the future."

For further information, please contact:

Venture Life Group PLC	[phone]
Jerry Randall, Chief Executive Officer
Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad and Joint Broker)	[phone]
Michael Johnson / Russell Kerr (Sales) Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume (Corporate Finance)
Singer Capital Markets (Joint Broker) Jonathan Dighe (Sales) Shaun Dobson / Alaina Wong (Corporate Finance)	[phone]

About Venture Life ( www.venture-life.com )

Venture Life is an international consumer self-care company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the global self-care market. With operations in the UK, The Netherlands and Italy, the Group's product portfolio includes some key products such as the UltraDEX and Dentyl oral care product ranges, food supplements for maintaining brain function, medical devices for women's intimate healthcare, fungal infections and proctology, and dermo-cosmetics for addressing the signs of ageing.

The products, which are typically recommended by pharmacists or healthcare practitioners, are available primarily through pharmacies and grocery multiples. In the UK and The Netherlands these are supplied direct by the company to retailers, elsewhere they are supplied by the Group's international distribution partners. 

Through its Development & Manufacturing business in Italy, Biokosmes, the Group also provides development and manufacturing services to companies in the medical devices and cosmetic sectors.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward ‐ looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and VLG provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward ‐ looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although VLG believes the expectations expressed in such forward ‐ looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected.

Company website

Neither the content of VLG's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on VLG's website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

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